Friday, February 28, 2014

When I was an IBO, I remember at many meetings, the speaker would talk about how IBOs are helping people by getting them in the business or at least showing them the plan. Looking back, I fail to see how inviting someone into a business where they are virtually assured of losing money (in the systems) is helping them. This is also how some IBOs think that they are suddenly "better" people because they think they are helping people by being an IBO. My upline used to talk about how IBOs were helping people. Yet when community projects were going on, we were in meetings and functions.

On average, Amway products cost more than big retailers so a prospect is not necessarily helped by purchasing Amway products. For IBOs purchasing Amway products, they are taking away from their local economy by purchasing Amway goods, although I guess you could argue that the IBO is helping Amway to succeed. But they certainlt aren't helping anyone.

IBOs who are actively building a business usually have many meetings to attend, and hard core IBOs are taught not to miss any meetings. Therefore and IBOO has less time to spend with his or her family. The IBO has less time to spend at church, and less time to help with any community projects. The IBO will probably miss someone's wedding or birthday celebration because of the hectic schedule of an IBO.

While all of this activity is happening, IBOs also have less money because the voicemail, standing order, functions and books and other expenses eat away at an IBO's resources. Thus IBOs have less to contribute to charity.

So an honest question. How do IBOs help people by building an Amway business? How are they better people by showing someone the plan?

Im my informed opinion, the nicer and better person is what upline teaches as a side note to distract an IBO from the FACT that they are losing money. Much of this is because of the defacto 100 PV and tools requirements. They also make it seem as if IBOs are "helping" people by showing them the business plan. When you think about it, perhaps just the opposite is happening. This is another tactic, IMO that uplines use to justify an IBO's lack of progress, much like how they tell downline that they are successful just by getting themselves to a function.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

I have been reading some ongoing debates about whether the system income for higher pins is more than their Amway bonuses. I believe the systems such as BWW, WWDB, N21 or LTD, does generate more profit for upline than the sale of Amway products. How the system income is divided though, is still a mystery as it doesn't appear that there are bonafide written contracts explaining how tools income is split up among the higher pins. There is also the debate of whether diamonds themselves or their "corporations" receive the profit, which is laughable as a defense.

But it's very easy to determine that more income is made from the system than from Amway. If you move $100 worth of Amway products, Amway will pay about $33 back in the form of bonuses. These bonuses will be split among the Amway IBOs (middlemen), depending on your level. On the other hand, if your group bought say 20 cds at $5.00each, the system will profit about $90 as cds cost about 50 cents each to produce in bulk. Some Amway apologists will cite the fact that some groups sell cds for $2.50 or $3.00. While this is true, there is a "member's fee" which must be paid. And when you add in the member's fee, the profit for the system is the same or possibly higher! Even when you factor in the system employees, you can easily see the math and determine where the real money is made.

If you buy a major function ticket for $125, the cost of that function might be in the neighborhood of $25 to $30 per attendee, so the system may generate $100 profit on a $125 sale. I believe the smaller functions such as open meetings, books and voicemail have smaller profit margins, but still overall, it's easy to conclude that the profit from the system is greater than profits generated by moving Amway products. I might add that the sales on these functions are often made in cash, thus who knows if the diamonds are even paying the IRS taxes on these sales.

The only question is how much each individual earns. I have "heard" that platinums get a discount on the sale of standing orders and cds, but I have never heard of a platinum sharing any profit for functions, voicemail, or any of the other materials. This is puzzling to me as I believe the platinums do the most work in the system, helping downlines.

So for the lower level IBOs, if you move $300 in Amway sales (Approximately 100 PV), you will receive about $10 or 3% while upline enjoys the rest of the $90+ in bonuses from Amway. And then when you purchase and move tools volume, you receive nothing and some of your uplines enjoy all of the profit. While I don't see any problem in upline making a profit for selling training materials, I see a problem in the fact that the tools don't work. So few IBOs progress to levels where an actual profit is earned that the use of tools cannot be justified. Amway supporters will point out the new platinums emerging each year, but do not mention the platinums who do not re-qualify.

Based on my observations, I can only conclude (quite easily) that there is substantially more profit from the sale of support materials for upline to enjoy, and I can also conclude that the support materials are ineffective in training downline IBOs so they can progress to higher levels of the business. But as PT Barnum once said, a sucker is born every minute.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

I've been a blogger now for a number of years. I've debated with Amway apologists and they ultimately resort to excuses and/or personal attacks when they run out of defenses. Food for thought, when you have to make excuses about why your opportunity isn't a scam or a pyramid scheme, that should already make you stop and think for a minute. The easy excuse is to say that "my group isn't like that". Yet I see testimonies and statements that indicate to me that things have not changed, even in all the years since I left the Amway business myself.

Even the product's prices need to be justified. That there is concentration or other factors that really make Amway stuff a better value. Strange how that better value doesn't seem to translate further once an IBO realizes that there is no residual income at the end of the rainbow. Many IBOs don't seem to mind paying for Amway stuff when they believe that they will one day walk the beaches of the world while more money than they can count will keep rolling in. When the dream fades, so does the desire to purchase these awesome products. If not, with tens of millions of former IBOs, Amway sales should be through the roof after all these years. But it hasn't. Although Amway recently reported an increase in north american sales, that wasn't the case in the last 10 years. Amway apologists even have excuses about why that is the case.

Amway also reported recently, that they have updated their average IBO income. While it is still miserable, it has gone up, although a clear explanation as to how and why they calculated the "average income" was not apparently given. So the debate continues. Critics analyzing and predicting how and why, and Amway apologists making excuses and justifying their position. Why not just be transparent and end the debate once and for all? I think most people know the answer. The bottom line for most is whether or not they make a net profit. For the vast majority of IBOs, especially the ones on the system, the answer is a net loss. It is predictable and easy to conclude. The 6-4-2 or any other version of the compensation plan clearly shows that very few people can make any decent money. If a platinum IBO typically has 100 or more IBOs, that is your answer there. It should be noted that a platinum might not even be very profitable if they are sold out on buying system tools.

So IBOs and Amway defenders, are you making money (net profit)? Or are you just making excuses?

Friday, February 21, 2014

One of the reasons why I joined Amway at one time in my life was because a close friend of mine had joined, and had gone platinum and convinced me of how easy it was and that I could easily do what he had done. Additionally, I was sold by delusions of residual income flowing for the rest of my life. I honestly thought that the one day would come when there would be no job and life's toughest decision would be where to have lunch.

I got serious and started building the business and eventually reached various levels, eventually topping off at the 4000 PV level. At that point, my upline had assured me that my net income would be $1000 a month with the right parameters. I had those parameters but my net income was zero because upline expected IBOs to reinvest all of their earnings into tools (standing orders, functions, etc). At that point, I began to question why we would do all the work and get no financial reward. I was told that the money would be there if I just kept working the business.

Apparently, many IBOs get in for various reasons and I'm sure that teh displays of mansions, jets and cars made some people salivate. Some really enjoyed the thought of telling off their boss and quitting their jobs because Amway was so lucrative. Many people believe it because they want to believe it. Many people would love financial freedom, especially when you have a 2-5 year shortcut to achieve it.

I recall some nite meetings where upline asked the group "why" we are building Amway. It was to spend more time with family, or to possibly gain financial freedom. A popular one was to retire the wife so she can be the one to care for the kids and eventually the dad wouold soon follow. In a nutshell, many people joined Amway as a means to have more time and more money. Money from your residual income and time because you won't need a job. The truly sad thing is that for the vast majority of people who try, even those who work hard at it, end up with less time and money as a result of Amway and the systems.

Rather than why you should build an Amway business, people would think about better and more realistic ways of securing their future. That hard fact is that only a fraction of 1% of people will ever make any decent money from Amway, and even those who might make some coin from Amway, much of that profit is rechanneled back into tools. IBOs would seriously be better off doing nothing than doing Amway.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

I often hear stories and testimonies about how some people (usually newbies) have this incredible belief in Amway, their sponsors and their LOS, such as WWDB or Network 21. Being that many, possibly most IBOs are sponsored by a friend or family member, means that there is an inherent trust in the sponsor or upline. If that were not true, then we would likely see many more complaints about Amway and/or the uplines and lines of sponsorship.

But an important facet of being an IBO is to have a dream. Don't let "naysayers" steal your dream, is what many IBOs are told. But what is that dream? Is is a dream (a long term attainable goal) or a wish such as winning the powerball lottery? Many prospects and IBOs want to succeed. They are willing to work hard, and are very dedicated, I would say that these folks usually will end up failing, not for lack of effort, but for a flawed MLM/Amway system that cannot possibly reward more than a few. The famed 6-4-2, 6-4-3 or some other variation of the plan will illustrate that only 1 in 100 or so can be "platinum". And that's with nobody quitting. Factor in attrition and "do nothings" and it might be 1 in 200 who can reach platinum. Even if the whole world signed up for Amway, that fact doesn't change.

Do you really believe in Amway and your line of sponsorship such as WWDB or Network 21? If you truly believe in Amway and your metors, I challenge you to do one of these things. If you can't or won't, then I question your level of commitment. I question your belief. I'm not here to steal your dream. I am just challenging you.

Take your 6-4-2 or 9-4-2 or 6-4-3 plan to a loan officer at a bank and show them the plan. (Hey, it will help you be CORE) Ask the loan officer for their opinion of the plan and see if you can get a business loan based on the Amway plan. If not that, try seeking the advice of a real millionaire (Someone who has a net worth of a million bucks) and see if they think the 6-4-2 or other Amway (version) plans can work and whether they think Amway is a good idea. Heck, try asking your church Pastor. My church Pastor said Amway had too many false hopes and promises to be considered a viable business option.

How strong is your belief in Amway? Strong enough to take my challenge? Or will you ignore this and go on fooling yourself?

Monday, February 17, 2014

I've been debating some people over some issues that arose from the behavior of some Amway IBO's. In particulr, whether or not IBO's are still using trickery and deception in getting prospects to see the Amway plan. When first recruited, I was outright lied to about the meeting. While I am not sure how common this technique is anymore, I'm pretty sure that it still happens as I still run across comments on other forums and blogs that would suggest it still happens.

There are some folks who defend Amway as if the opportunity has become some type of Utopian society where there no wrongs and everyone is honest and upfront about Amway. Well I'm sorry but that's just not the case. I was following the blog of a WWDB IBO and he was still talking about some of the same unethical things that were taught back in my days. And why would it change? Many of the same leaders are in power now as they were back in the 1990's when I was an IBO. Of course that WWDB IBO predictably disappeared along with his blog. But he spoke about buying homes in cash, low divorce rates of Amway IBO's and a host of other BS that was taught sme years agi. This IBO was apparently taught to attend the same function more than once by his wise "mentors".

While I have not been recently prospected by Amway IBO's, I still suspect that not a whole lot has changed in the US. Amway reported sales increases recently but didn't menton US sales. I suspect they are stagnant as the market has likely reached saturation. When I refer to saturation, I don't mean that all of the US has "gotten in", but simply that incoming IBO's are just replacing the ones who quit and there's no real growth occurring. Now I could be wrong but since Amway doesn't release those numbers, I have to draw my own conclusions.

So people can keep claiming that Amway "doesn't do that anymore", but the evidence available on the internet suggests that Amway indeed still has IBO's who are using deceit and trickery. Amway's name was badly soiled in the past and I highly doubt that people in the US has forgotten about the shenanigans of the past. Whether it's unfair or not, it is what it is.

Friday, February 14, 2014

I often hear from pro Amway people that Amway works. Obviously with nearly 12 billion in sales, Amway works, but who does it work for? I am of the opinion that Amway works well for the owners and for some of the tenured diamonds. The owners have a great deal because they make the products and the sales people use and try to sell Amway products. The distributors take all the risk. The expense of advertising and marketing of the produts falls on the IBO's and Amway even has a minimum quota (100 PV) before you even get a commission. Thus it is not true that simply changing your shopping habits will earn you sme money, unless you spend abut $300 a month on household products.

For the Amway diamnds, Amway works because they earn bonuses on their dowline volume, and the downline are basically an exclusive customer base for their motivational tools and functions. My own experience and the numbers posted by Amway suggests that these functions and tools are highly ineffective. Approximately 1 in 200 IBO's reach the level of platinum and that's the level where IBO's allegedly begin to earn some net profits, although a sold out dedicated IBO could still lose money, depending on business expenses and consumption of tools. People may wonder how you can lose money as aplatinum, but frequent travel by air and functions.

It wouldn't be so bad if there weren't a 100 PV minimum. Say you bought a box of laundry detergent and nothing else, then you would get a small rebate instead of nothing. The other flaw in the Amway plan is that the IBO who sells the product often gets the smallest cut of the commission. Lets say an IBO did 100 PV. He earned a 3% bonus which is around $10. But his 100 PV generated nearly $100 in bonuses paid by Amway. The layers of upline get the rest of the bonsues while the one who "did the work" gets very little. And because the IBO incurs the expense of advertising and marketing the product, this is a pretty bad deal. The system only works if an IBO can sponsor enough people who will in turn absorb the small profits while you prosper, then the system will work for you. But will you be happy prospering at the expense of the people who trusted in you enough to sign up?

The Amway sstem really works for you if you can overcome and get a piece of the action in selling tools and functions. Wthout the supplemental income from tools and functions, I believe that most diamonds live very ordinary middle class lives and may even be drowning in debt if they try to flaunt the "diamond lifestyle" abd keep up with the Joneses.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

One of the reasons why I joined Amway at one time in my life was because a close friend of mine had joined, and had gone platinum and convinced me of how easy it was and that I could easily do what he had done. Additionally, I was sold by delusions of residual income flowing for the rest of my life. I honestly thought that the one day would come when there would be no job and life's toughest decision would be where to have lunch.

I got serious and started building the business and eventually reached various levels, eventually topping off at the 4000 PV level. At that point, my upline had assured me that my net income would be $1000 a month with the right parameters. I had those parameters but my net income was zero because upline expected IBOs to reinvest all of their earnings into tools (standing orders, functions, etc). At that point, I began to question why we would do all the work and get no financial reward. I was told that the money would be there if I just kept working the business.

Apparently, many IBOs get in for various reasons and I'm sure that teh displays of mansions, jets and cars made some people salivate. Some really enjoyed the thought of telling off their boss and quitting their jobs because Amway was so lucrative. Many people believe it because they want to believe it. Many people would love financial freedom, especially when you have a 2-5 year shortcut to achieve it.

I recall some nite meetings where upline asked the group "why" we are building Amway. It was to spend more time with family, or to possibly gain financial freedom. A popular one was to retire the wife so she can be the one to care for the kids and eventually the dad wouold soon follow. In a nutshell, many people joined Amway as a means to have more time and more money. Money from your residual income and time because you won't need a job. The truly sad thing is that for the vast majority of people who try, even those who work hard at it, end up with less time and money as a result of Amway and the systems.

Rather than why you should build an Amway business, people would think about better and more realistic ways of securing their future. That hard fact is that only a fraction of 1% of people will ever make any decent money from Amway, and even those who might make some coin from Amway, much of that profit is rechanneled back into tools. IBOs would seriously be better off doing nothing than doing Amway.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

When I was being prospected into Amway, I saw the 6-4-2 plan. I am fairly certain that most groups still present the Amway opportunity using the 6-4-2, although I am aware that some groups use different variations of this. The plan sounds so simple. Just sponsor 6. The next layer does less than you and sponsors 4, and the next layer does even less and sponsors 2. First of all, most IBOs don't sponsor a single person to begin with. Many IBOs are unable to even show the plan to another person. So if you cannot achieve even the first step, how can you possibly make the plan come to fruition? The answer is you can't.

Only a fraction of 1% of IBOs ever reach platinum. Out of those who do reach the milestone, few are able to maintain the business and even fewer ever go on and achieve higher levels such as emerald or diamond. WIth the attrition rate so high, even recruiting new IBOs basically keeps you even. The effort required to maintain the business can become a full time job or more for some people. My former sponsor was out showing the plan for himself or for downline every night of the week, save for the functions and other meetings. Amway he said, needs to become your life if you want to succeed.

You have so many factors working against you that it takes an exceptional (and possibly lucky) individual to be able to overcome the challenges to reach a recognized pin level. The spotty name reputation of Amway, the higher (on average) prices of their products, the high attrition rate and the fact that any higher level requires a large downline. These factors make it nearly impossible for anyone to go diamond and reach what appears to be the pinnacle of Amway success. Sure, some IBOs may not have such lofty goals, but the "plan" is designed to achieve diamond. I have not ever seen or heard of a plan for an IBO to achieve 600 PV.

In many instances, whether it's a business, or a sports team, or some other activity, you will notice that the winners or the successes often have a great system. Many fast food businesses for example, have a processing system. A great football team might have a great offensive or defensive system. A large business may also have a proven system. This is where the problem lies in Amway. The system is ineffective. The system as shown to many prospects, needs many "lower level" IBOs working in order for someone to achieve the levels such as platinum.

As you cannot control the actions and beliefs of others, you cannot make people join your business. You cannot make them see the plan. Thus in the past, many IBOs resorted to deception and lies to get people in front of the plan. In college, I was invited to a "beer bust", only to walk into an Amway meeting. The person who invited me said we would do the beer bust after the meeting. Thus my first impression of Amway was a bad one. As one can reasonably conclude, Amway IBOs for the most part, end up failing. But they don;t fail for lack of effort. They fail by design. That's how the 6-4-2 plan is set up (or whatever version your group uses). It is in my opinion, failure by design.

Monday, February 10, 2014

One of the issues I have with the Amway plan is that the newest IBO, possibly the one who does the most "Work", receives the smallest compensation. Amway pays about 32% of their income back in the form of bonuses. An IBO who does 100 PV receives a 3% bonus and somewhere, uplines and sponsors receive the rest. Some of the upline may not have even met the IBO who actually did the work. Is that really fair and is that a level playing field? What do some of these uplines do to deserve the lion's share of the bonus you worked to get? Yes, the upline diamond may show the plan in an open meeting, which may help you, but then again, you pay for entrance into that meeting.

Many uplines will talk about dreams and fulfilling your dreams. But if an IBO would stop and think for a moment, you can easily see that you are building the dreams of your upline, and not your own. You receive a tiny portion of the bonus for the volume that you move, and then in addition, if you are on the system, then you are also paying upline in the form of tool purchases for the priviledge of giving them bonuses with your product purchases.

It is why your upline diamonds can parade around on stage with designer suits and show you their fancy cars and mansions and other toys. It is because they are cashing in on your efforts. You are making their dreams come true. Your dedication to moving volume and purchasing standing orders are fulfilling dreams. The upline dreams. Yes, someday you can hope to have your own group of downline to exploit for your own benefit, but unless you are adding members to your group regularly, you will never achieve the kinds of dreams that uplines talk about. In the meantime though, you are definitely helping someone upline achieve their dreams with every function you attend. Ironically, the upline leaders will tell you to never quit, even if they don't know your personal circumstances and/or how your business is progressing.

Here's a challenge for IBOs and/or prospects who are being recruited into the Amway business. 100 PV will cost around $300 a month and dedication to the tools system will cost you around $150 to $250 a month on average. Would you not be better off simply writing a check to your upline for $100 and not even joining? Would you not be better off staying home and watching television instead of joining? If you read all of the information available on this blog and still decide to join, good luck to you, but remember this: Whose dreams are being fulfilled by your participation?
Yours or your upline?

Thursday, February 6, 2014

I remember seeing the plan as a prospect back over a dozen years ago. I remember the speaker talking about how you can capitalize on distribution efficiencies to make money. We as IBOs would simply cut out the middleman and that savings would be psssed onto us as IBOs. In its simplest form, it made sense and and misconception passed onto the audience that you will actually save money by ourchasing Amway products. I even remember the speakers saying that even if the whole world signed up for Amway, even the last guy getting would would have the benefir of saving money. Looking back now, much of it was deception and lies. And to think, people now and back then paid good money for training on how to become, in my opinion, the least efficient manner in which to move products.

We recently enjoyed the Superbowl. And as you know, superbowl commercials can cost millions of dollars. But do you know why? It's because hundreds of millions of people across the world are tuned into the superbowl. Companies probably have their best staff working on developing these commercials because they want to leave a lasting impression on their viewers. And it apparently works because people today are still willing to shell out serious coin for these commercials.
Amway IBOs advertise person to person, one person at a time.

What are the chances of an IBO ever moving a significant amount of products or being able to reach out to potential new downline when they prospect person to person, face to face, one at a time? To me, that is the most inefficient manner of expanding business. And let's face it, Amway's rules don't help when you are not supposed to advertise online without special permissions and you are not supposed to sell product on Ebay or Craigslist. In today's technological society, it seems almost crippling to be so inefficient.

And even your beloved uplines, at your expense, run the most inefficient manner of doing business. Who needs voicemail when we have facebook, email, twitter or text messaging? Not to mention the added expense IBOs face by these outdated technologies. Also, with video conferencing, skype, or webcams, why do people need to travel long distances for meetings and functions? The answer is simple, your upline might not want your success, they simply might just want your money. All of the training and motivation is a profit center for upline and modernizing would simply reduce their tool profits.

Try asking that of your upline. Why do we keep using the most expensive and inefficient means of doing business and communicating? I'd be curious to hear that answer.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

One of the things that my upline taught, and I believe is still taught today in various groups is that winners join Amway and losers do not. Or that you were a winner because you were doing something to better your financial future and those who didn't were losers. or broke minded. Of course the upline who said this had no knowledge about those who were not in Amway. Some of them may already have been financially sound or may have been doing something to better their financial future. I'm not sure why these uplines, who promote "positive", had to resort to calling people losers simpy because they did not agree that Amway was the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's only positive if it's Amway related and anything non Amway is negative. Anyone see a problem with this?

In many games or sporting events, there will be someone or a team that wins the game and someone or a team that loses the game. Losing a game doesn't make you a loser and certainly, a team that wins the game would not say the losing team were losers. Can you imagine a Superbowl winning team's coach taking the podium after a game and saying his team won because the other team was a bunch or broke minded gutless losers? That would never happen, yet we see that frequently in the Amway/IBO world. The owner of Amway, Rich DeVos had once said in a recorded message that just because people do not agree with you (paraphrased) about Amway, does not make them losers and that IBOs should not call people losers. I believe this has been crafted by upline to apply pressure to downline IBOs to "never quit'.

In all of this, people's jobs are also criticized. That a job stands for "just over broke" or "jackass of the boss" and other insults. Many IBO's goals and dreams consist of ditching their job so they can sleep until "the crack of noon" and live a life of luxury. Ironically, it is most IBO's jobs that continue to produce income so they can pay their bills and feed their family. It is also an IBO's job that funds their Amway and AMO expenses such as product purchases and functions and voicemail, etc. Without having a job, most people could not even join Amway or pay for any tools. Sadly, most IBOs won't make any money in Amway either, and will have to continue to work at their jobs. I do not believe that someone earning an honest living working a job is a loser. Ironically, many of the folks calling people losers and broke are not even netting a profit from their Amway business!

Yes, in this business or the sports world, there will be winners and there will be losers. The question is whether you are the one who is allowed to be the judge of who is and who isn't. I would also suggest that IBOs are completely shutting down potential future business by their behavior. What if I went to a store to purchase something but the item was not available on that particular day, so I don't purchase anything and leave. As I leave, the store owner says I am a loser for not buying something there. Will I go back? Very unlikely. If an IBO truly sees themselves as a store owner, all prospects should be seen as potential business, whether future or present. If your upline tells you that people not interested are losers, you should hand him a mirror. Or inform your upline that when you point a finger at someone, there are even more fingers pointing back at you.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

One of the things that attracts many IBOs to the Amway opportunity is the idea that they can work part time, 2-5 years and gain a "shortcut" to ongoing and voluminous wealth. Many of the prospects don't have the kind of income or resources that they would like, so the possibility of a shortcut to these trappings sounds like a good idea. They sign up and get started, and then the realities of the business sets in.

100 PV, is the defacto minimum quota for business building IBOs. It costs about $300 to purchase 100 PV worth of products. How many young and single people or couples for that matter, use and/or need $300 worth of household products each month? How many of these same people can actually afford to expend that much cash on household products? The pitch is to change where you shop but how many people were buying these kinds of good prior to Amway? My guess is none. I know I purchased many items, including vitamins, and I didn't need or use before Amway. But my desire to be teachable and to be an example to my downline kept me buying the goods, and trying to pawn off some stuff on friends and relatives to lessen my PV burden.

I also found that getting people to see the plan was no easy task. While my business was growing, it took more and more effort to recruit downline and I can see where many IBOs would reach the saturation point where there simply aren't anymore viable recruits and they might need to resort to cold contacting in order to generate potential prospects. This is probably why there are stories of IBOs stalking people in bookstores, malls and supermarkets. Even when people saw the plan, there wasn't a high percentage of new people signing up. It is why building and maintaining a business is a nearly impossible task, and it is why I believe there aren't people who retire, walk away from their Amway businesses and enjoy six figure residual incomes for life.

The more likely scenario is an IBO signing up, buy and using the products and tools and slowly but surely build up debt. There are countless stories of ex IBOs who got fired up, started building the business and fouond that in a relatively short period of time, found themselves in thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in debt. All the while upline was encouraging them to buy more tools and attend more function, even when they were not profitable. In my opinion, this is confirmation that uplines care more about their tools profits that they do about downline success. I sat in functions where upline would teach about reducing debt, but in the same breath, say it was okay to go deeper in debt if it was to purchase more tools. Self serving advice.

It is why I believe this opportunity, along with the tools system, will nearly guarantee IBO failure. It is sad, but it is also a reality.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Looking back at my IBO days, I can now laugh at some of the strange stuff we did and believe it or not, I have reason to believe that my old LOS, WWDB still teaches some of this and some other major groups also teach it. I believe some of these practices were the reason why some people refer to the Amway business as cult or having cult like qualities. If you recognize some of these practices, you might be in an unethical group and you should ask your upline the tough questions and possibly reconsider or reprioritize your involvement in the business.

Submission to upline was one of the things we were told. Our group was told that upline would never purposely lead us astray so we should trust them and never try anything without checking upline. Afterall, upline had experience and probably had all the answers. Some of this checking upline included asking permission to get married, buy a car or a home, or even something as small as purchasing a camera. The upline said maybe someone upline might have advice on how to get a good deal on a camera so no harm in checking upline before making a purchase. It is my guess that upline didn't want your disposable income being spent on anything other than standing orders and functions. Our group was taught to reduce debt, but ironically, upline said it was okay to go deeper in debt if it was to attend a function or to buy more cds.

Late meetings. Our upline was into late meetings, many occuring after midnight. I suppose it was a show of loyalty and dedication to the upline and the system. In reality, it made most people angry at their jobs because they had to wake up early to go to work. For me it made me mad at our upline because the meetings taught us nothing of substance and it just made us tired. Our upline used to talk about time being important but it was never important enough to make him show up on time for his own late night meetings. Another cult like factor - sleep deprivation.

Secrets. Anytime we asked about how much income uplines may have been earning, we were either told it's none of our business or shown a photocopy of a 10 year old bonus check that someone upline may have received. Our proof that the business worked was upline showing off pictures of sports cars and mansions. Of course we now find that some WWDB diamonds had homes foreclosed, and one prominent triple diamond had some dealings in bankruptcy court. Looking back, I suspect that many diamonds have mortgages, which would be nor problem except that these leaders scoffed at the stupidity of having a loan. That diamonds pay cash for everything, including homes. My former sponsor still lives in a run down rented home beause he won't purchase a home unless he's got the cash. My former sponsor is a physician so I find his position on buying a home preposterous. His oldest child, a son probably grew up deprived of his parents because of dedication to the system and the functions.

Losing money is success. Many times, our group was told that losing money was a sign of success. It was success because we were investing in our futures. That the business really is not about money but about friendships. I suppose upline taught this because everyone was losing money so it was nice to hear that success was around the corner, and that we were all nicer people and on our way to success if we just attended more functions and bought more standing orders. People who sold off some of their personal property were edified if they did so to attend a function. Obviously these folks were not advised to run their business within their means. Upline even said that going into debt was okay, but only if the debt was to invest in the business or to buy extra function tickets.

While some of these practices seem bizarre, I believe it is because the upline advice was self serving and meant to channel their downline's dollars into tool purchases. It is the only conclusion I can make. What's your conclusion?

About Me

I am writing this blog based on my experiences in the Amway/Quixtar business and the opinions I have formed based on those experiences.
I ran a 4000 PV business (with eagle parameters) only to discover that I was not profitable!
I'm not here to encourage any IBOs to quit, nor do I wish anyone to fail. I do encourage IBOs to ask their upline tough questions and I encourage IBOs to closely monitor their profit and losses as does a traditional business owner.

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